Hook, Line, & Schuester
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day three hundred and fifty-six: Look out New Directions, Will Schuester has a plan...


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 16th cycle. Now cycle 17!_

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**"Hook, Line, & Schuester"  
Will, Emma, New Directions, Will/Emma **

Everyone had come and made their way into the Glee room, to find their Mr. Schuester looking all kinds of excited. They were apprehensive, but they went and took a seat, waited. They could see a box next to the piano, and whispers began to run, everyone left to wonder what was going on. Once the last of them had made it, they watched as Schuester grabbed the box and brought it to rest on a stool in the middle of the room; whatever it was, they were about to find out what it was. When he opened the box and started reaching in, twelve eager necks stretched, hoping to catch a glimpse – a few on the back row began to lift from their chairs. Finally he pulled something out… and placed it on his head. Everyone sat back, wide-eyed and a bit slack-jawed. Kurt was the first to speak.

"He's finally gone and lost his mind…"

"Mr. Schue, why do you have a strawberry on your head?" Finn frowned.

"I'm allergic," Brittany looked to Santana.

"Okay, you're probably all wondering what this is about," Will pointed to the poofy hat on his head, which was indeed in the shape of a strawberry. All twelve nodded. "Well, it seems we have a new requirement for Regionals. Now, it hasn't been officially announced, and I can't really explain how I got to know about it. Now I could have kept it to myself, but I think I can trust you guys to keep this to yourselves… is that right?" Again, he got nods all around, even though conviction was of different levels from head to head. One was firm, while eleven were miles below on the charts.

"So what's the new requirement, being vegan-friendly?" Santana's head bobbed. There were a few low chuckles.

"No, not exactly," Will took the hat off, running a hand through his hair. "Who wants it?" he offered it out. No one moved, until Rachel waved her hand. Will threw it; she caught and placed it on her head, smiling. "Better on you than me," Will gave her a nod.

"So what do we have to do?" Quinn asked.

"You're going to be reaching out to a… new audience," he indicated the hat. Brittany raised her hand. "Yes?"

"But, Mr. Schue, I'm allergic," she reminded, giving the hat the stink eye.

"No, sweetie, I think he means kids," Santana told her, keeping her voice low, though Will heard her.

"Santana's right," Will revealed and the whispers began. "Alright, settle down," he called, and they stopped. "But yes, we will be reaching out to kids, which is why I got these," he picked up the box and tipped it forward for them to see inside, where there were some more hats and accessories. "Go ahead and come pick one, the choice is yours." They were hesitant to move. Brittany was the first to go, fishing out a pair of cat ears and placing them on her head. It finally dawned on them that, if they didn't act promptly, they might come down to a case of 'slim pickings.' So everyone got up and went to get something. Artie was handed a pair of floppy dog ears. The rest of the items ranged from a wizard hat (acquired by Puck) to a sun (now crowning Quinn's head) and a pair of oversized and padded white gloves (which had been helped on to Tina's hands).

"What now? I'm not exactly used to cater to the Barney crowd," Puck tipped his hat.

"I've made arrangements for us to perform to a group of kindergartners in three days. How you choose to present yourselves… that I'll leave up to you," he pointed.

"Mr. Schuester?" Rachel called out to him before pointing to the door. He looked around and saw Emma standing at the door.

"Right, okay, talk amongst yourselves, I'll be back," Will told them before moving out into the hall. "Hi," he greeted her as they stepped away from the door.

"What's going on, what's with all the hats and…" she signalled back.

"Oh, just a, uh, Glee exercise."

"Is this another… Gaga… thing?" He laughed. He looked back for a beat before leading her a little further away.

"Can you keep a secret?" he leaned forward. Emma's head flicked. "I'm… I'm running a bit of an experiment."

"An experiment?" Emma's eyebrow flexed.

"Prank," he whispered. Her mouth moved into an O-shape. He grinned and chuckled. She sputtered, blinked… then chuckled as well. "Can I trust you?" he zipped his lips.

"Of course. On… one condition?" Will nodded, watching her face shift into a timid plea. "Can I watch?" Will tried not to beam too bright, as hard as that was. Their relationship hadn't exactly been running smooth lately, so this… it was a chance to reconnect, even if only a little. So they returned to the Glee room, where the conversation was loud and alive. "Why, exactly?" Emma took the opportunity to ask. He thought.

"It's an experience, a memory," he shrugged. "I guess I wanted to do April's Fools, but I didn't want to go and make it easy to figure out, so I did some strategic planning." Emma nodded, then smiled… back to work.

Will stayed, with Emma, throughout the period, watching everyone throw ideas around. If anything, it was helping them work together, imagine. Near the end, Rachel stepped up and said she had an idea to present. She called on Puck to accompany her on guitar, and the rest of the club to play the responsive audience, as she performed The Sound of Music's 'Do-Re-Mi.' With all the hats and such, the image was definitely odd, though of course the performance was perfect.

The days passed, and the 'big day' came. The club headed over to the kindergarten class of Miss Jenny. The kids were loud and all over the place, which had the club slightly on edge, but the teacher took care of it. At this time, Will chose to let the cat out of the bag, especially after Artie begged that they 'keep him safe,' and Mercedes aired concern that this would in no way help them at Regionals. It was all snapping into place, so… he came clean, gave the 'surprise!' revelation. They reacted in relief as well as amusement… They'd been had. Still, there they were, and the kids were waiting.

The show went on, a lot more relaxed now that the pressure was gone. It turned out to be exactly what Will had hoped. Not only did the kids love the songs, the club looked like they had fun. They mingled with the kids, got them to chime in here and there. No matter how it started, it ended up a cherished memory to all.

THE END

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**_[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]_**


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